Roof gutters are constantly in need of cleaning as a result of leaves, pine needles, twigs and other debris which are washed from the roof during rain storms. Homeowners are particularly plagued during the fall season as leaves fall from nearby trees to fill the gutters and block downspouts causing the gutters to overflow. To alleviate this problem, prior art devices have been developed which include screens and other apparatus to stop leaves from entering the gutter and straining devices which prevent the leaves once they have entered the gutter to pass into and down the downspout. However, many of the prior art devices cause more problems than they solve and often-times require more maintenance than the unshielded gutters.
With this background in mind, the present invention was developed and one of its objectives is to provide a gutter shield requiring little routine maintenance.
It is another objective of the present invention to provide a gutter shield which will allow leaves and debris to pass over the edge of the gutter and onto the ground below while allowing rain water to pass uninterrupted into the gutter.
It is another objective of the present invention to provide a gutter shield which is easily installed and which can be manufactured at a relatively low cost.
It is yet another objective of the present invention to provide a drain shield which can be adapted to a variety of conventional gutters rapidly without expensive modifications being made thereto.